Asian markets trade mostly lower in early deals of Friday

16 Jan 2026 Evaluate
Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals of Friday, due to sell offs in technological sector stocks after recent rallies. Woes surrounding new US tariffs on advanced AI chips and reports of China halting certain US cybersecurity software also pressured the indices.Japan’s Nikkei dipped slightly with the caution ahead of Bank of Japan’s policy meeting next week for any signals on its rate-hike path. Speculation about a snap election in Japan under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi introduced policy risk raised risk aversion in the market. Stock market of Indonesia is closed for ISRA MI'RAJ holiday.

Nikkei 225 down by 18.50 points or 0.03% to 54,092.00, Hang Seng lower by 88.62 points 0.33% to 26,835.00, Shanghai Composite narrowed by 6.81 points or 0.17% to 4,105.79, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index slipped by 3.62 points or 0.21% to 1,711.54

On the flip side, Straits Times up by 12.83 points or 0.27% to 4,846.17, Taiwan weighted added by 619.18 points or 2.01% to 31,429.76, KOSPI Index increased by 38.32 points or 0.80% to 4,835.87.

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